DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 08/29/2025 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The Office Action is in response to the amendment filed 08/29/2025.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112
Applicant's arguments regarding the rejection of claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112 have been fully considered and are partially persuasive. Regarding claims 1, 19, and 20, Applicant argues: “Specifically, the Examiner alleges that there is no support in the Specification for the recitation of acquisition of a single pulse. However, it appears that the Examiner confused the disclosure for the recited "single echo" acquisition and the disclosure of the "single pulse." The exemplary method described in the present application can use a single-echo acquisition, e.g., during each repetition of the sequence (thus, e.g., during each TR cycle), a single echo is acquired. For example, during different repetitions of the sequence, e.g., the frequency of the saturation RF pulse is changed. This is different from traditional fat-saturation methods, which use the same frequency for saturation RF pulses during all sequence repetitions. Thus, the specification fully support the claims of the present application.”. Applicant’s statement of “The exemplary method described in the present application can use a single-echo acquisition, e.g., during each repetition of the sequence (thus, e.g., during each TR cycle), a single echo is acquired.” may be true in general, however, no support from the specification has been cited to support the statement. Furthermore, Applicant’s own argument relies on a single echo per sequence, not the claimed “wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets”. So, while a single pulse may be taught by the specification, the claimed “wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets” does not appear to be supported by either the figures or specification text. See below for updated rejection.
Rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102
Applicant's arguments regarding the rejection of claims 1-6 and 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Keupp et al (US 2020/0348382 A1, heretofore referred to as Keupp) have been fully considered and are persuasive. However a new rejection has been formed in view of Slavin (US 2008/0081986 A1, heretofore referred to as Slavin).
Rejections under 35 U.S.C. 103
Applicant's arguments regarding the rejection of claims 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keupp in view of Feng et al (Feng, Li et al. “XD-GRASP: Golden-Angle Radial MRI with Reconstruction of Extra Motion-State Dimensions Using Compressed Sensing”, Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2016, vol. 75, pp. 775-788, heretofore referred to as Feng) have been fully considered and are persuasive. However, a new rejection has been formed in view of Slavin.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 recites “wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets” The specification specifically states “Accordingly, in exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, instead of relying on the precision and effectiveness of a single RF saturation pulse, which may be expected to diminish in areas with strong local field homogeneities and for field strengths with narrow spectral separation between fat and water, exemplary systems, methods and computer-accessible medium according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can utilize a response curve generated from multiple saturation frequencies for classifying—or even quantifying—the tissue content.”, in paragraph [0016], and further teaches “FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary graph of timing of the RF pulses used for the 3D bSSFP sequence according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Outer brackets 401 indicate the outer loop over different radial angles, and inner brackets 402 indicate the inner loop over kz sampling positions. Dashed boxes 403 indicate the implemented fat-saturation module (a) RF saturation module comprising a SPAIR pulse, an α/2 preparation pulse, and three dummy shots; (b) bSSFP readout module; and (c) flip-back module. The exemplary frequency offset of the SPAIR pulse is modified after a user-selectable number of repetitions of the outer loop.” in paragraph [0057]. These disclosures appear to teach saturating pulses after which no echo is acquired, which appears to teach away from “wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets”.
Claims 2-18 are rejected for depending on rejected base claim 1.
Claim 19 recites ““wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets” The specification specifically states “Accordingly, in exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, instead of relying on the precision and effectiveness of a single RF saturation pulse, which may be expected to diminish in areas with strong local field homogeneities and for field strengths with narrow spectral separation between fat and water, exemplary systems, methods and computer-accessible medium according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can utilize a response curve generated from multiple saturation frequencies for classifying—or even quantifying—the tissue content.”, in paragraph [0016], and further teaches “FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary graph of timing of the RF pulses used for the 3D bSSFP sequence according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Outer brackets 401 indicate the outer loop over different radial angles, and inner brackets 402 indicate the inner loop over kz sampling positions. Dashed boxes 403 indicate the implemented fat-saturation module (a) RF saturation module comprising a SPAIR pulse, an α/2 preparation pulse, and three dummy shots; (b) bSSFP readout module; and (c) flip-back module. The exemplary frequency offset of the SPAIR pulse is modified after a user-selectable number of repetitions of the outer loop.” in paragraph [0057]. These disclosures appear to teach saturating pulses after which no echo is acquired, which appears to teach away from “wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets”.
Claim 20 recites “wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets” The specification specifically states “Accordingly, in exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, instead of relying on the precision and effectiveness of a single RF saturation pulse, which may be expected to diminish in areas with strong local field homogeneities and for field strengths with narrow spectral separation between fat and water, exemplary systems, methods and computer-accessible medium according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can utilize a response curve generated from multiple saturation frequencies for classifying—or even quantifying—the tissue content.”, in paragraph [0016], and further teaches “FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary graph of timing of the RF pulses used for the 3D bSSFP sequence according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Outer brackets 401 indicate the outer loop over different radial angles, and inner brackets 402 indicate the inner loop over kz sampling positions. Dashed boxes 403 indicate the implemented fat-saturation module (a) RF saturation module comprising a SPAIR pulse, an α/2 preparation pulse, and three dummy shots; (b) bSSFP readout module; and (c) flip-back module. The exemplary frequency offset of the SPAIR pulse is modified after a user-selectable number of repetitions of the outer loop.” in paragraph [0057]. These disclosures appear to teach saturating pulses after which no echo is acquired, which appears to teach away from “wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-6 and 11-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keupp in view of Slavin.
Regarding claim 1, Keupp teaches a method for separating fat from water contributions in at least one magnetic resonance (“MR”) image (Keupp; Par 0008-0009 and Par 0042; Keupp teaches separating the water and fat contributions from a complex MR image), comprising:
providing periodic radio frequency (“RF”) saturation pulses with varying frequency offset from a water resonance frequency with at least two different offsets (Keupp; Fig 1, Element 126, Par 0085, and Par 0086; Keupp teaches using at least a set of saturation frequency offsets), wherein echo data is aquired (Keupp; Par 0126, 0127, 0131, and 0160; Keupp teaches a GRE echo signal may be acquired);
analyzing the signal response to a saturation at different frequencies on a voxel-by-voxel basis (Keupp; Par 0008-0009 and Par 0042; Keupp teaches reconstructing the B0 map along with a water and fat image and using a shift to calculate voxel-by-voxel to determine the complex image data); and
based on the analyzed signal response, separating the fat from the water contributions in the at least one MR image (Keupp; Par 0038, Par 0092, and Par 0108-0118; Keupp teaches creating a separate fat image and a water image).
Keupp does not explicitly teach wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets.
Slavin teaches wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets (Slavin; Fig 2 and Par 0021; Slavin teaches a fGRE acquisition method may be used in which a single alpha pulse is played out and a single k-space line is acquired, i.e. a single echo is acquired after the RF saturation pulses).
Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the apparatus of Keupp with the fGRE single echo acquisition of Slavin in order to increase accuracy with regards to the fluctuations of the patients heart rate (Slavin; Par 0029).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 1. Keupp further teaches wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises using a signal-response profile to classify each voxel into substantially containing fat and substantially containing water (Keupp; Par 0025; Keupp teaches using a threshold to classify voxels into ones containing a certain fraction of fat or water).
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 1. Keupp further teaches wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises using a signal-response profile to quantitatively estimate a percentage of fat and a percentage of water contained in each voxel (Keupp; Fig 9, Par 0025, and Par 0157; Keupp teaches separating the voxels and displaying the Z-spectra with the estimated percentage of water and fat).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 1. Keupp further teaches wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises radial sampling of k-space to acquire data for different frequency offsets of the RF saturation pulse (Keupp; Par 0039, Par 0043, Par 0087, and Par 0089; Keupp teaches using a frequency dependent phase angle for each offset to align the signals).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 4. Keupp further teaches further comprising sampling radial views such that acquired view angles differ between frequency offsets and the radial views are combined to form a dense set of radial views (Keupp; Fig. 7, Par 0039, Par 0043, Par 0087, Par 0089, and Par 0139; Keupp teaches using a frequency dependent phase angle for each offset to align the signals and overlaying the plots from the phase angles).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 1. Keupp further teaches wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises under-sampling data for each frequency offset by skipping sampling steps to shorten an acquisition duration (Keupp; Par 0131; Keupp teaches skipping acquisition steps if desired, which would shorten the duration).
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 5. Keupp further teaches wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises combining the data acquired for the different frequency offsets into at least one of (i) a composite image that shows only water contributions, or (ii) a composite image that shows only the fat contributions (Keupp; Par 0121; Keupp teaches at least providing a composite image with only the water contributions).
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 5. Keupp further teaches wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises fitting an analytical signal-response model to an experimentally observed signal-response curve to quantitatively estimate a fat fraction in each voxel (Keupp; Par 0025 and Par 0164-0166; Keupp teaches using modelling to the observed curve to estimate the water and fat contributions).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 5. Keupp further teaches wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises fitting an analytical signal-response model to an experimentally observed signal-response curve to quantitatively and jointly estimate a fat fraction and a static magnetic field deviation B0 in each voxel (Keupp; Par 0025, Par 0159, and Par 0164-0166; Keupp teaches using modelling to the observed curve to estimate the water and fat contributions and to further interpolate the B0 shift in the voxel).
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 1. Keupp further teaches wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises using neighborhood relationships to enforce smooth spatial change of an estimated static magnetic field deviation map B0 (Keupp; Par 0153 and 0157; Keupp teaches using neighboring saturation offsets to adjust the B0 shift map, which smooths the change).
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 1. Keupp further teaches wherein the separating procedure comprises calculating a phase difference between the fat and the water (Keupp; Par 0101 and Par 0126; Keupp teaches calculating the phase difference between fat and water contributions).
Regarding claim 16, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 1. Keupp further teaches wherein the phase difference between the fat and the water is incorporated into an extended two-component fitting model (Keupp; Par 0101, Par 0126, and Par 0151; Keupp teaches calculating the phase difference between fat and water contributions and using a fitting model for the fat saturation spectrum).
Regarding claim 17, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 16. Keupp further teaches wherein the extended two-component fitting model is based on at least one of a fat intensity or a water intensity (Keupp; Par 0101, Par 0126, and Par 0151; Keupp teaches calculating the phase difference between fat and water contributions and using a fitting model for the fat saturation spectrum).
Regarding claim 18, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 16. Keupp further teaches wherein the extended two-component fitting model is based on at least an overall curve-shift from local B0 inhomogeneities or residual noise (Keupp; Par 0025, Par 0105, Par 0159, and Par 0164-0166; Keupp teaches using modelling to the observed curve to estimate the water and fat contributions and to use the fat suppression pulses to reduce B0 noise).
Regarding claim 19, Keupp teaches a system for separating fat from water contributions in at least one magnetic resonance (“MR”) image (Keupp; Par 0008-0009 and Par 0042; Keupp teaches separating the water and fat contributions from a complex MR image), comprising: at least one computing processor which is configured to: Cause periodic radio frequency (“RF”) saturation pulses with varying frequency offset to be provided from a water resonance frequency with at least two different offsets (Keupp; Fig 1, Element 126, Par 0085, and Par 0086; Keupp teaches using at least a set of saturation frequency offsets), wherein echo data is aquired (Keupp; Par 0126, 0127, 0131, and 0160; Keupp teaches a GRE echo signal may be acquired); analyze the signal response to a saturation at different frequencies on a voxel-by-voxel basis (Keupp; Par 0008-0009 and Par 0042; Keupp teaches reconstructing the B0 map along with a water and fat image and using a shift to calculate voxel-by-voxel to determine the complex image data); and based on the analyzed signal response, separate the fat from the water contributions in the at least one MR image (Keupp; Par 0038, Par 0092, and Par 0108-0118; Keupp teaches creating a separate fat image and a water image).
Keupp does not explicitly teach wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets.
Slavin teaches wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets (Slavin; Fig 2 and Par 0021; Slavin teaches a fGRE acquisition method may be used in which a single alpha pulse is played out and a single k-space line is acquired, i.e. a single echo is acquired after the RF saturation pulses).
Regarding claim 20, Keupp teaches a non-transitory computer-accessible medium (Keupp; Par 0085-0089; Keupp teaches a memory in a system for operating) having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for separating fat from water contributions in at least one magnetic resonance (“MR”) image (Keupp; Par 0008-0009 and Par 0042; Keupp teaches separating the water and fat contributions from a complex MR image), wherein, when a computer arrangement executes the instructions, the computer arrangement is configured to perform procedures comprising: causing periodic radio frequency (“RF”) saturation pulses with varying frequency offset to be provided from a water resonance frequency with at least two different offsets (Keupp; Fig 1, Element 126, Par 0085, and Par 0086; Keupp teaches using at least a set of saturation frequency offsets), wherein echo data is aquired (Keupp; Par 0126, 0127, 0131, and 0160; Keupp teaches a GRE echo signal may be acquired); analyzing the signal response to a saturation at different frequencies on a voxel-by-voxel basis (Keupp; Par 0008-0009 and Par 0042; Keupp teaches reconstructing the B0 map along with a water and fat image and using a shift to calculate voxel-by-voxel to determine the complex image data); and based on the analyzed signal response, separating the fat from the water contributions in the at least one MR image (Keupp; Par 0038, Par 0092, and Par 0108-0118; Keupp teaches creating a separate fat image and a water image).
Keupp does not explicitly teach wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets.
Slavin teaches wherein a single echo is acquired following each of the RF saturation pulses corresponding one of the varying frequency offsets (Slavin; Fig 2 and Par 0021; Slavin teaches a fGRE acquisition method may be used in which a single alpha pulse is played out and a single k-space line is acquired, i.e. a single echo is acquired after the RF saturation pulses).
Claims 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keupp in view of Slavin in view of Feng.
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 6.
The combination of Keupp and Slavin does not explicitly teach wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises using a compressed-sensing principle to recover images for different frequency offsets by utilizing correlations between the data from adjacent frequency offsets.
Feng teaches wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises using a compressed-sensing principle to recover images for different frequency offsets by utilizing correlations between the data from adjacent frequency offsets (Feng; Pgs 3-4, Section A Simple Example of XD-GRASP and Pgs 10-11, Section Discussion; Feng teaches using correlations of the frequency offsets next to each other in order to better reconstruct the image).
Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the apparatus of the combination of Keupp and Slavin with the sensing principles of Feng in order to provide a better image while the target has respiratory motion (Feng; Pgs 2-3, Section Introduction).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Keupp and Slavin teaches the method of claim 1.
The combination of Keupp and Slavin is silent on wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises using an XD-GRASP procedure and a compressed-sensing procedure for radial sampling to recover images for all frequency offsets.
Feng teaches wherein the analyzing of the signal response comprises using an extra-dimensional golden-angle radial sparse parallel (“XD-GRASP”) procedure and a compressed-sensing procedure for radial sampling to recover images for all frequency offsets (Feng; Pgs 3-4, Section A Simple Example of XD-GRASP and Pgs 10-11, Section Discussion, Section Discussion; Feng teaches using correlations of the frequency offsets next to each other in order to better reconstruct the image).
Before the effective filing date of the invention it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the apparatus of the combination of Keupp and Slavin with the sensing principles of Feng in order to provide a better image while the target has respiratory motion (Feng; Pgs 2-3, Section Introduction).
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Keupp, Slavin, and Feng teaches the method of claim 8. Feng further teaches wherein the offset frequency is treated as extra dimension for the XD-GRASP procedure (Feng; Pgs 3-4, Section A Simple Example of XD-GRASP and Pgs 10-11, Section Discussion; Feng teaches using correlations of the frequency offsets next to each other in order to better reconstruct the image).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM S CLARKE whose telephone number is (571)270-3792. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-4pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Judy Nguyen can be reached on (571)272-2258. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ADAM S CLARKE/Examiner, Art Unit 2858
/JUDY NGUYEN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2858